>> the house has done its work. it's time for the president and senate democrats to do their work. they've known for 16 months that this date was coming. that's why the house acted twice last year. but yet senate democrats and the president have never passed anything. it's time for them to do their work. >> pelley: but the reality is that this is going to happen on friday. the president and the senate are not going to get a bill passed to you and have your chamber approve that bill before friday. i mean, the sequester is going to happen. >> at this point i would agree. it looks that way. but hope springs eternal. >> pelley: but they weren't counting on hope at u.s. immigration and customs enforcement today. with more on that release of illegal immigrants, we turn now to elaine quijano. elaine? >> reporter: scott, the jail behind me is one of the facilities where a number of detainees are believed to have been released. an immigration official describes the detainees as noncriminals. homeland security secretary janet napolitano suggested

yesterday that drastic action might be necessary. >> all i can say is, you know, look, we're doing our very best to minimize the impacts of sequester, but there's only so much i can do. i'm supposed to have 34,000 detention beds for immigration. how do i pay for those? >> reporter: a statement, a spokesman for u.s. immigrations and customs enforcement said: one immigration advocate tells cbs news he knows of at least 12 states where detainees have been released. u.s. immigration and customs enforcement declined to comment on specifics. and, scott, illegal immigrants on supervised release can be required to wear electronic tracking devices or regularly call immigration officials or

visit their offices. >> pelley: elaine, thank you. news of the release of the detainees came just before our interview with speaker boehner and it drew this reaction. >> this is very hard for me to believe that they can't find cuts elsewhere in their agency. i frankly think this is outrageous. and i'm looking for more facts but i can't believe that they can't find the kind of savings they need out of that department short of letting criminals go free. >> pelley: what do you think's going on here? >> i think that the administration's trying to play games. play games with the american people, scare the american people. this is not -- this is not leadership. >> pelley: you just accused the white house of fear-mongering. >> listen, they're out there making a lot of noise. what they really ought to be doing is coming up to the hill and working with the senate democrats to pass a bill that can replace the sequester and begin a deal with our long-term

spending problem. >> pelley: sequester is the term that washington uses for those automatic budget cuts. speaker boehner says the house will not act until democrats in the senate take the lead on writing a bill that achieves savings in a more sensible way. he was blunt about that earlier today. >> we have moved the bill in the house twice. we should not have to move a third bill before the senate gets off their ass and begins to do something. >> pelley: you said the senate has to get off its ass. >> yeah! it's time for them to do their work! >> pelley: a few weeks ago you said the president didn't have the guts to do what needed to be done on the budget. today you said the senate has to get off its ass. those don't sound like the words of a man seeking to bring people together to compromise. >> now listen, i've had a very nice conversation with the president last week. i had a very nice conversation with harry reid, senator reid, the majority leader the week before. our members want us to have cuts and reforms that put us on a

path to balance the budget over the next ten years. that's what we want and that's a tall order. it's going to mean real work on our entitlement programs, real work on other spending items in the budget. >> pelley: and to be clear no revenue increases. >> we're not -- the president got his tax hikes in january. the federal government will have more revenue this year than any year in our history. it's time to tackle spending. period. >> pelley: he's referring, of course, to last month's increase in top tax rates and the increase in the payroll tax. the automatic spending cuts that start on friday come to $85 billion this year and mr. obama had this to say in an appearance today in virginia at the newport news shipyard. >> when you're cutting $85 billion in seven months, there's

no smart way to do that. you don't want to have to choose between, let's see, do i close funding for the disabled kid or the poor kid? do i close this navy shipyard or some other one? >> pelley: the across-the-board cuts that start friday can be reversed any time that the president and congress agree to a better way. late today senior officials at the white house said it does not look hopeful that the issue will be resolved before this weekend. the senate is working on two competing bills now. the senate also today approved a new secretary of defense republican chuck hagel, the former senator from nebraska was confirmed 58-41. hagel only got four republican votes. it is stormy in washington tonight and another storm that pounded texas and oklahoma is

now moving through the midwest. heavy snow is making travel nearly impossible all the way to the great lakes. more than a foot fell in kansas city. 100,000 homes and businesses lost power and dean reynolds has more. >> reporter: kansas city was buried for the second time a week. a blizzard so bad the plows got stuck. wind gusts in places reached 70 miles an hour and damaged buildings. amarillo was digging out of a one-day record on monday when 19 inches of snow fell there. wichita set a new record for the month. while two inches an hour fell on peoria. flights were canceled and passengers stranded across the nation's mid-section. but alternatives to air were perilous. whiteouts and two-foot drifts stranded cars and trucks and closed parts of an interstate in texas. at roadco transportation services in cicero, illinois

they tracked the storm's impact on their trucks and the 80,000 pounds of cargo they carry. >> let me go work on that. >> reporter: bob adelman runs the business. >> on a normal day we'll send out anywhere from ten to 15 loads. today we'll probably send out five. >> reporter: a load being a truck? >> yes. >> reporter: but with the storm roaring in from the west caution is called for. nobody's going west today? >> no, no, no. because we don't send them into harm's way. we're not suicide pilots here. (laughs) >> reporter: now these last two storms will ease, but not end, the drought. two feet of snow translate into about just two inches of rain and, scott, the national drought mitigation center says there are some areas of this country that will need 16 inches of rain to fully recover from the drought. >> pelley: dean, thanks very much. in two days now pope benedict xvi will become the first living

former pope in six centuries. the vatican announced today that his title in retirement will be pope emeritus. earlier today, we asked long- time vatican reporter delia gallagher, senior editor for "inside the vatican" magazine, how the vatican will cope with two popes. >> well, a lot of this will be unchartered territory and will depend, i think, on common sense of the pope emeritus, benedict who has said he would like to live hidden from the world a life of prayer, a life of silence and one has to take him at his word that that is indeed, what he intends to do he especially is a man who understands that he has to allow the freedom of the new pope to take the church in the direction that he sees fit without setting up any kind of anti-papacy. i mean, these cardinals have been appointed by pope benedict xvi and john paul ii so i don't think we'll see a situation of conflict. >> pelley: why can't the vatican seem to settle on a date for the

conclave to begin to select the new pope? >> well, part of it is logistical. we have to wait until the pope actually leaves, which will happen on thursday. and then on friday we begin the period of the sette vacantis the vacant seat. and this is all regulated within the vatican rules and they will need time, of course, to set up the sistine chapel, to set up the logistical aspects of holding a conclave within itself. and then they will need some time to meet in order to discuss exactly who their preferred candidate will be. so i think if we're looking at a week, that's moving pretty quickly for the vatican. >> pelley: delia gallagher in st. peter's square in rome thank you so much. what's behind an increase in teen driving deaths? the supreme court takes up a challenge to a landmark civil rights law. and a hot air balloon tragedy when the "cbs evening news"

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>> pelley: tomorrow the supreme court will hear a challenge to the landmark voting rights act of 1965. both sides agree the south has changed in half a century. the issue is, has it changed enough? here's chief legal correspondent jan crawford. >> reporter: in shelby county-- like in most parts of alabama-- the question is whether the

state's racist past must forever define it. 50 years ago, alabama was the center of the civil rights movement. protesters endured fire hoses, arrests, bombings, and the fight for equality. one result was the voting rights act. one provision of the act section 5, still requires all or part of 16 states-- mostly in the south-- to get approval from the justice department before changing voting procedures or electoral maps. >> section 5, which is what we're attacking, was never intended by congress to be permanent. >> reporter: shelby county lawyer frank ellis is at the heart of the battle to eliminate section 5 and force the federal government to treat alabama and other covered states like the rest of the country. >> they're still using the same criteria to determine whether these 16 states that are covered, they're still using the same test that they used in 1965. >> reporter: what's wrong with that? >> what's wrong with that? things have changed in the south! this is a dynamic society! >> reporter: but earnest

montgomery says things haven't changed enough. he was on the city council in calera, alabama, when city officials-- facing a population boom-- redrew his district map. he lost the election to a white candidate. but under section 5, the justice department ordered a new election and montgomery won. so what was the minority representation of your district before -- under the old map? >> under the old map, district 2 was about a 67% african american district. >> reporter: under the new map what happened? >> under the new map it was diluted down to probably about 27% to 28%. >> reporter: shelby county pastor harry jones calls it discrimination. you think they were redrawing that district to keep african americans off the city council? >> i think it was designed to delete the power of the minority community. and it did just that. >> reporter: and that's why jones is defending section 5. but opponents like ellis say they're not attacking the entire voting rights act. if there's intentional discrimination, scott, people

could still sue just like they do in ohio and other states that aren't covered by section 5. >> pelley: jan, thanks very much. there's a new report out tonight that says that deaths among 16 and 17-year-old drivers increased in the first half of last year. increased by 19%. deaths had been declining. the group behind the report says that distractions including cell phones could be a factor. when a teenager is gunned down is a controversial law to blame? that's next. i remember the day my doctor said i had diabetes. there's a lot i had to do... watch my diet. stay active. start insulin... today, i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said that with novolog® flexpen® i don't have to use

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what's out there matters to me.. ...so does what's in here. break a leg! ask your doctor if prolia® is right for you. >> pelley: it was one year ago tonight in sanford, florida, that george zimmerman shot and killed trayvon martin, an unarmed teenager. zimmerman goes on trial for murder in june. he claims he's protected by florida's "stand your ground" law which allows anyone who feels threatened to use lethal force. mark strassmann tells us that florida and other states are now reconsidering these laws. >> just don't understand how something like this could happen. >> reporter: ron davis got the call every parent dreads last november. his 17-year-old son jordan had been shot twice in the parking lot of this gas station. >> what they did was they pulled

a sheet up to his neck because they didn't want know see the gunshot wound and i went over and i hugged my son and i kissed my son. and i said good-bye to my son. >> reporter: it must have been excruciating. >> it still is. >> reporter: police say jordan davis was in a car with three other teens when 45-year-old michael dunn demanded they lower their music. an argument began. dunn told police he thought the teens had a shotgun so he pulled out his handgun and fired eight or nine shots. jordan davis was killed. dunn claims self-defense under florida's stand your ground law. police say the teens were unarmed. would that have happened without the stand your ground law in your book? >> no. i don't believe he would have done it. >> reporter: 27 states have stand your ground laws. four are considering changes including florida. >> this is good public policy. >> reporter: state representative dennis baxley helped write florida's law and was part of a governor's task force which reviewed it.

they recommended no changes. >> we should stand beside law- abiding citizens. they should not be treated as a criminal if they're doing something positive, which is stopping a violent act from occurring. >> reporter: since 2005, the number of violent crimes in florida has dropped 22%. but the state's number of deaths classified as justifiable homicides involving civilian shooters more than doubled from 18 in 2005 to 40 in 2010. >> there are going to be times with close calls near the foul line is it in or is it out? who's the assailant and who's the victim? >> reporter: michael dunn has pled not guilty to first degree murder in the gas station shooting. when his trial begins sometime next year, ron davis plans to be in court everyday. mark strassmann, cbs news, jacksonville, florida. >> pelley: in egypt today, 19 tourists were killed in what's believed to be the deadliest accident ever involving a hot air balloon. a balloon caught fire and then crashed. three people survived, including the pilot.

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santa cruz next on kpix-5. from santa cruz next on kpix-5. weather talent appears at wx center with generic ben affleck turned the story of a hostage rescue in

the oscar winning movie "argo." but that story was first reported more than 15 years ago by david martin on this broadcast. today, david caught up again with the man affleck portrayed in the movie, the cia's real master of disguise. >> reporter: if ever a spy had his cover blown, it is tony mendez. that's him with his wife at the oscars, where success is exactly the opposite of what it once was when he was known as the cia's master of disguise. >> sort of develop a mentality in our business where you consider success to be the fact that nobody knew, nobody will ever know. >> reporter: that was mendez in 1997 speaking in public for the first time in an interview with cbs news. now practically everybody has heard has story. >> shoot him. he's an american spy. >> "argo"! [ applause and cheers ] >> reporter: the first lady herself announced it.

"argo" won best picture for director and star ben affleck. but mendez was the real star of the real "argo," the 1980 operation which spirited 6 americans out of iran while 52 others were held hostage at the u.s. embassy. the years have slowed mendez, but in another interview in 2012, he still told a riveting tale about how he smuggled the six diplomats, "exfiltrated" in spy talk from under the noses of crowds chanting "death to america." >> we're doing an exfiltration for a group of people, you need a cover story. >> reporter: cover story? you needed a lie. >> yeah, a lie. maybe it's not credible, but it's so strange that it couldn't be false. it has to be true. >> reporter: so mendez came up with a bogus movie called "argo," complete with ads in "variety" and business cards. >> well, we have to invent some offices and if you go there, you call him up, you answer the phone. >> reporter: you had an office in hollywood. >> we decided to call it studio 6 productions. >> my name is tony mendez. >> reporter: both as played by affleck and in real life, mendez went into tehran

disguised as a producer scouting locations for his movie and turned the 6 americans who were hiding in the home of a canadian diplomat into members of his crew. outfitted with false identities, they passed through customs at the tehran airport and flew home to a joyous welcome. mendez had pulled off the perfect caper. >> it's like robbing banks except in our case, we had made it look like the money was still there. >> reporter: the other guy doesn't know he's been robbed. >> and he's happy. >> reporter: so how does a man who went into iran at the height of an anti-american revolution feel about the oscar? well, he's just back from l.a. and he told us, he was trembling. >> yeah. isn't that crazy? >> reporter: the spy who stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight. david martin, cbs news, washington. >> and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. with thanks to the jones day law firm for this window on washington, and for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night.

captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. good evening, i'm elizabeth cook. >> i'm allen martin. we're going to begin with breaking news out of santa cruz tonight. two people, two officers, we're told shot late this afternoon in an incident that triggered a lockdown in a santa cruz neighborhood near downtown. we have live pictures from chopper 5 from the search area near north branciforte avenue. a manhunt is under way for two suspects, one of whom was shot. it began on a house on north branciforte avenue. the surrounding area is locked down as police conduct their investigation. kpix 5's kiet do the first reporter on the scene is going to bring us the latest. i know you attended a police briefing. what do you know? >> reporter: well, there was

just another briefing about 30 seconds ago where an officer came and told the parents kids at the four schools on lockdown, ranging in ages from 3 to high school age, they are going to move kids to the local county building at 701 ocean street. the kids are within the crime scene. what we understand from concerned and scared parents, some of the shootings and bullets were actually fired right in front of or behind this montessori and these kids are just terrified ages 3 to 5 and the headmaster on the school. a sense of relief for parents heard the kids were going to get on a bus and get pulled out of the dangerous situation. from what we know, the police tell us that there were three people that were shot two of them were officers. we do not know the extent of their injuries. there have been some unconfirmed reports and fatalities, again, very fluid

situation out here we are trying to nail that information down. we are trying to get a briefing. the shots were fired sometime around 4:00. we spoke to a woman whose daughter is inside one of the units and the unit is directly adjacent to attached to where this entire barrage of gunfire happened. she said that it sounded like a cluster o firecrackers. that's how many shots were fired. she was told by s.w.a.t. officers to get on the ground. she is still in fact laying in one of the houses on the ground. we have s.w.a.t. tanks on scene at least 2. we have federal, state, county, city officers, responding from all across the region. there are ambulances here. we have heard reports of people getting transported to the hospital. so branciforte shut down between water and [ indiscernible ] and that's about all we can see at this point. three people officers, two officers, and a fluid fast- movi